


Lost & Found

by Rothecooldad



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Don't let them fool you, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, Light Angst, M/M, this isn't as dramatic as they make it seem
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-25
Updated: 2018-02-25
Packaged: 2019-03-23 20:21:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13795575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rothecooldad/pseuds/Rothecooldad
Summary: Was this even a good idea?The thought crossed Gavin’s mind, and not for the first time since he’d arrived.No, it wasn’t. It couldn’t be.If Matt didn’t want to talk at the office, shouldn’t Gavin respect that and give him his space?But then, how could he besureMatt was okay?





	Lost & Found

**Author's Note:**

  * For [captainandersmith](https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainandersmith/gifts).



> disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. All characters are based upon the internet personalities portrayed by members of Achievement Hunter and in no way are meant to reflect the lives of the actual person or persons themselves.

Jeremy stood behind Michael’s chair, waiting patiently for Matt to answer.

 

“So, what should we get for lunch, dude? I'm starving.”

 

When no response immediately came, Gavin lowered the volume of the video he'd been watching so he could hear the conversation going on beside him. Considering Matt had yet to say anything, though, ‘conversation’ might have been a bit generous.  He didn't  _ look  _ like he was ignoring Jeremy, and he didn’t even have headphones on, but he clearly wasn't listening, and was staring at Michael's screen almost blankly.

 

“Yo, Bragg.” Jeremy snapped his fingers in front of Matt's face.

 

Matt jerked back, startled. 

 

“Hmm, wha-?” He looked up at Jeremy, shaking off whatever he had been thinking about before.

 

“I asked what you wanted for lunch.” Jeremy frowned. “You okay, man?”

 

“Yeah, um,” Matt rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes shifting to the side. “Just, uh... Just tired, s’all.” 

 

Gavin would easily consider Matt one of worst liars in the office, if not  _ the _ worst. And that included Gavin himself, who was incapable of keeping a straight face at the best of times. So he was pretty confident in his assessment that Matt was lying right then - which was, well, concerning, because  _ why _ would he lie about that? 

 

“Ya sure, buddy?” 

 

“‘Course,” Matt told him, tapping his fingers against his leg. “You go ahead without me. Think I’m just gonna, I dunno, work through lunch today. I’ve got things to work on that should probably get done soon. Trevor’ll kick my ass otherwise,” he joked, chuckle falling flat. 

 

Gavin gave up the pretense of  _ not _ blatantly listening in, turning fully toward the two. He caught Jeremy’s eye, the corner of Gavin’s mouth dragging down, and  he gestured toward Matt, brow furrowing. Matt  _ never  _ turned down an invitation for lunch, and definitely not for  _ work. _

 

Jeremy just shrugged, leaving the room. 

 

Matt got up shortly after, pushing in Michael’s chair more harshly than Gavin would have expected from him. It left a bad taste in his mouth, and he turned to catch Matt before he left.

 

“Hey, er,” Gavin cleared his throat, getting Matt’s attention. “Going back to your desk?”

 

“Yeah, Gav. I’m just going to...” 

 

He trailed off. Matt kept his eyes on the door, not turning back to face Gavin at all: 

 

“...Gotta work, y’know.” 

 

Gavin didn’t get the chance to say more before Matt left. He didn’t even say goodbye before he was out of the room, heading for the support office. Gavin’s shoulders slumped in defeat. 

 

The rest of the guys had already left for lunch, leaving Gavin alone in the office - except for Matt and Jeremy. He’d planned on joining them as soon as he’d finished editing his video, but for now, he took advantage of the solitude, crossing his arms along his desk and sighing as he leant his head against them.

 

He couldn’t puzzle together what seemed to be wrong with Matt that day, and could make even less sense about why it was bothering him so much. But something about the way that Matt had acted - the way he sounded so goddamn  _ tired _ when he spoke to Jeremy, and then even worse with Gavin - rubbed him the wrong way. And, yeah, sure, he’d  _ said _ he was tired, but Gavin  _ knew  _ Matt, had seen Matt go days with little more than an hour’s sleep and a pack of energy drinks with little to no issue. Whatever this was, it  _ wasn’t that.  _ This wasn’t Matt’s usual ‘whoops, accidentally stayed up playing Zelda all night’. This? This was  _ sad.  _

 

It left a pit in Gavin’s stomach, and he couldn’t get the way Matt just  _ left  _ out of his head. 

 

He was still lost in his thoughts when Trevor had tapped him on his shoulder a while later. He whipped his head around, nearly jumping out of his skin.

 

Trevor stared at him.

 

“‘Sup, Treyco,” Gavin greeted, like his heart wasn’t trying to pound its way out of his chest.

 

“Are you… okay?” Trevor asked, vague concern (and more than a little bit of amusement) lacing his tone.

 

He didn't bother to answer. Almost glaring at Trevor, Gavin stood up and rounded on him.

 

“Why are you working Matt so hard?” he demanded.

 

Confusion was the only emotion playing on Trevor's face as he looked back. Clearly Gavin’s intimidation tactic wasn’t getting through.

 

“ _ What?” _

 

Gavin took a deep breath, trying to calm down. He had to consciously stop himself from yelling, but it was a close one.

 

“Matt wouldn't come to lunch with us because he said  _ you  _ gave him too much work to do.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest, frown deepening into a scowl: “ _ dick move,  _ Treyco _.  _ Matt works hard enough. Definitely harder than the rest of this lot.” Gavin gestured to the room around him, the emptiness only serving to prove his point. “He  _ more  _ than deserves a break _. _ ”

 

“Yeah. I agree.” Trevor spoke slowly, staring at Gavin not unlike one might stare at a feral dog they’re trying to keep from attacking. “Which is why, when he asked me, I said he could take the rest of the day off.”

 

“I…  _ What?” _

 

Now Trevor was the one frowning. “Figured he was sick or something. Didn't look great anyway, so I told him to go home and get some rest.” 

 

“You must be ‘aving a laugh!” Gavin gaped at him, incredulous.

 

“No, I very much am not  _ ‘aving a laugh.” _ he mocked, in a crude imitation of Gavin's accent. Which Gavin  _ did not  _ appreciate right now, by the way, but he was far too distracted to protest.

 

Why would Matt lie  _ again _ ? 

 

Gavin shook his head to dislodge his thoughts, and looked back at Trevor thoughtfully.

 

“Hey, Trevor? Do you happen to have Matt's address on hand, by any chance?” 

 

“I… guess?” Trevor raised an eyebrow, but pulled his phone out anyway, sending the information to him. “Am I giving you the day off, too?” 

 

Gavin read the address to himself and didn't bother to respond, already heading out the door. As an afterthought, he called “thanks!” over his shoulder, but he couldn’t be sure Trevor heard him.  _ Oh well,  _ he thought. If this worked out, he’d just have to tell Trevor again.

 

An hour and a half later, he found himself standing outside of Matt's apartment, shifting his weight anxiously from foot to foot. Gavin had left the office mostly on autopilot, too wrapped up in his own head to make any solid plans on how to approach this situation. It wasn't until he’d had to call a Lyft driver to pick him up from outside the local bakery, a large box of cookies in his lap, that he’d even realized he'd walked halfway across town. His subconscious was clearly doing a better job of this than he was.

 

The driver was kind, trying to make small talk to pass the time. But when he'd asked if the cookies had been for Gavin's girlfriend, joking about an apology gift, Gavin could only stutter out, “ _ something like that,” _ his fingers digging into the cardboard. The driver had side-eyed him, but seemed to have read the tension in the car and didn't try to make too much unnecessary conversation after that. Gavin was secretly grateful. He wasn't sure if he could have a proper chat just then, anyway, so he just watched the city go by outside his window, trying not to overthink what he was doing.

 

_ Was this even a good idea? _

 

The thought crossed Gavin’s mind, and not for the first time since he’d arrived.  _ No, it wasn’t. It couldn’t be. _ If Matt didn’t want to talk at the office, shouldn’t Gavin respect that and give him his space?

 

_ But then, how could he be  _ sure _ Matt was okay? _

 

__ Gavin stared down the door, as if it would open up and reveal the answer that he needed. Which, in a way, it would, he supposed. Either Matt would yell at him and send him away, angry that Gavin would intrude like this, or he’d accept the peace offering for what it was, and maybe Gavin could finally get to the bottom of this whole damn mess. 

 

Neither of which could happen if Gavin  _ didn’t knock so Matt would know he was there.  _

 

He balanced the box in one hand, raising the other in a loose fist. He took another breath, sparing a moment’s thought to think about what a mistake this was, and knocked, three sharp raps against the wood.

 

He heard footsteps shuffling in the apartment, and Gavin braced himself for Matt’s ire. Maybe he’d forgive him  _ someday _ , Gavin thought, rather pathetically.

 

The anger he was expecting never came.

 

When the door swung open, Matt stood there looking  _ overjoyed _ , if anything. Perhaps a bit confused as to why Gavin would show up to his place in the middle of the work day, let alone how Gavin might have even  _ found _ his place considering he’d never been there before. But he definitely didn’t look  _ unhappy _ to see Gavin.

 

“Gav!” Matt said, nearly bouncing in place as he greeted Gavin. His smile only grew wider when his eyes landed on the box in Gavin’s hand. “What are you doing here?”

 

“Er..” Gavin forced his mouth shut with an audible click of his teeth to keep himself from gawking. His brain struggled to connect the Matt in front of him to the Matt he’d talked to at the office just a mere couple hours ago. It was like night and day, the difference he saw. 

 

A moment passed and Gavin tried to speak again, mouth dry.

 

“I, er...”

 

He swallowed back his astonishment:“I wanted to see how you were feeling. Thought these would cheer you up.” He held out the box of cookies.

 

It was Matt’s turn to be shocked, eyebrows shooting up to his hairline. As he searched Gavin’s face curiously, his own expression softened.

 

“Come in,” he invited, taking Gavin’s hand and leading him across the threshold. Gavin blushed at the contact, but followed without any resistance. 

 

They sat down on Matt’s worn sofa, and Matt took the box from Gavin, placing it on the coffee table before turning to face him again.

 

It was silent for a moment, Gavin growing increasingly uncomfortable under Matt’s scrutinizing gaze, before Matt finally spoke.

 

“Thank you. Uh, for the cookies.” He scratched his beard. “And the visit. That was really sweet.”

 

“Yes, well,” Gavin said. He cleared his throat, looking anywhere but at Matt. “Didn’t exactly like seeing you moping around. Bit of a bummer, innit?”

 

He glanced back to find Matt staring at him in amusement. 

 

“Well, my apologies for making your day a little worse, Gav.” Matt cracked a grin, clearly expecting Gavin to laugh and play along.

 

Gavin frowned.

 

“Why did you lie?” Gavin hadn’t meant to ask that, but he hadn’t managed to bite his tongue in time, the question slipping through without his permission.

 

Matt grimaced, looking ashamed.

 

“I, uh,” he sighed, but continued: “...didn’t mean to? I did  _ plan  _ to keep working, but I was too distracted, so I got the okay from Trevor and came home. I’m sorry if I worried you.”

 

“I wasn’t worried,” Gavin protested, but Matt obviously wasn’t buying it.  _ To hell with it,  _ he thought. “Alright, maybe I was a bit concerned. I mean, turning down food? And you didn't even say goodbye!”

 

He flinched at his own words. Another thing he was very much not prepared to admit had bothered him - neither to Matt, nor to himself. It seemed his already shoddy verbal filter had decided to take a holiday after the day he’d been through.

 

This was not the time or the place to be examining those thoughts, so Gavin pressed forward, hoping to breeze past his admission.

 

“So, Bragg,” Gavin plastered a smile on his face, poking him in the arm. “What had you so down, anyway?”

 

Matt eyed Gavin but let it go.

 

“Do you even really want to hear the story?” He dragged his fingers through his hair. “It's kind of dumb.”

 

“What??” Gavin feigned surprise. “Dumb?  _ You?  _ Impossible.”

 

Snorting, Matt rolled his eyes. 

 

“Okay, fair point, asshole. It's just, uh...” He paused, seeming embarrassed. “Arya went missing last night, and even after searching for hours outside, I couldn't find her. Still couldn't when I left for work this morning.”

“Oh, Matthew!” The corners of his mouth dragged downward. “That must have been  _ awful.  _ I can't even imagine how I'd be if one of my lot got lost.”

 

“But-” Matt’s enthusiasm finally returned, his eyes shining - “by the time I got back, there she was, sitting on the couch and looking up at me like I was an idiot for worrying. Which I guess I was, yeah.”

 

This morning, Matt had seemed so wound up over  _ something _ , and Gavin was happy that now Matt only looked relieved.The cat in question must have known they were talking about her, too. She flung herself from the back of the couch to land between them, demanding attention.

 

“Yeah, yeah,” Matt grumbled, scratching her head, but only an idiot wouldn’t be able to tell that he was  _ more  _ than happy to oblige.

 

While Matt was busy playing with Arya, Gavin snatched a cookie from the box on the table.  _ Pretty good,  _ he noted, nibbling at it absentmindedly. He’d have to see what else the bakery had to offer at some point.  _ Maybe he could take Matt?  _ He thought as he watched the two, his chewing masking the fond smile Gavin was sure would be on his face otherwise.

 

Gavin ate, letting his mind wander. He thought back on the mess that had started this. He’d been so  _ worried.  _ And, for nothing, it seemed. Matt was fine. 

 

Well, he was fine  _ now.  _ He definitely wasn’t fine earlier, and Gavin couldn’t exactly regret his overreaction, even if it seemed incredibly silly now.

 

Swallowing the last bite, he nearly choked when a ball of fur jumped in his lap, claws first. Arya kneaded his legs until she was satisfied, laying down and staring up at him expectantly. 

 

Gavin stared back, before bringing his hand down and stroking her back gently. He leaned down and nuzzled the top of her head.

 

“Hey, little one,” he cooed at her. He was absolutely  _ delighted  _ when she began purring.

 

“Huh.”

 

Looking up from Arya, Gavin saw Matt eyeing them, head tilted in confusion.

 

“What?” 

 

“She usually avoids new people.” Matt reached out and scratched under her chin, and she purred harder, apparently loving all the attention she was getting. “She must really like you.”

 

“Well, I  _ am  _ very likeable, Matthew.” Gavin teased.

 

Matt smiled at him, an expression on his face that Gavin couldn’t quite decipher, but decided it made him feel very warm. It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling.

 

“Yeah.” Matt agreed easily, his voice bordering on tender. “You really are.”

 

Gavin felt his brows knit together as he studied Matt, who had yet to look away. He wasn’t sure what he saw, but Gavin’s heart was ready to burst right out of his chest if he kept it up.

 

He broke eye contact and cleared his throat, lifting a protesting Arya off of his lap. 

 

“I should probably, er, go.” Gavin still hadn’t looked back up. 

 

“I'll walk you to the door.”

 

Gavin didn't say  _ no, he could do it himself. _ The door was only a few meters away and it wasn't like Gavin would get lost.

 

He kept his mouth shut and let Matt show him out, trying not to lean into the hand Matt was pressing against his back. 

 

“Y’know,” Matt started conversationally, opening the door. “You're gonna have to come around more often. Arya really seems to have taken quite a shine to you.”

 

“Yeah?” Gavin took the chance to look at Matt again, only to find that Matt was looking at him, too.

 

“She's not the only one.” 

 

Gavin would have sworn he had imagined it (he couldn't stop the phrase ‘wishful thinking’ from popping into his head), if not for the fact that Matt was suddenly much closer than he had been before. And then Matt was kissing his cheek, a barely there press of lips that Gavin knew he'd be feeling hours from now. 

He was sure his eyes must have been the size of saucers, and his face definitely  _ felt  _ like it was on fire. But there was also the grin that was spreading across his face as he looked up at Matt. 

 

Matt was sporting a very similar grin, but Gavin didn't miss the nervousness or the relief that was present. Clearly this was something that had been weighing on Matt’s mind, too. 

 

“I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?” 

 

Gavin wasn't sure if he could actually respond, so he nodded, probably harder than he needed to. But, Matt grinned wider so Gavin couldn't be too embarrassed.

 

And, as he walked down the corridor and called for the lift, Gavin couldn't help but think that tomorrow would be a good day.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> After literally months of not posting anything, _this_ is what I come back with
> 
>  
> 
> Whoops
> 
>  
> 
> Come hmu and watch me cry over these chievo boys @ [ jeremwood ](https://jeremwood.tumblr.com)


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